


Mobile Suit Gundam: Metallic Hearts

by limewire



Category: Gundam & Related Fandoms, Original Work, Universal Century Gundam
Genre: Alternate Timelines, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Artificial Intelligence, Dysfunctional Family, Everything is terrible, F/F, Family Bonding, Gay Robots, Giant Robots, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Implied/Referenced Domestic Violence, Lesbians in Space, Newtype Spirits, Newtypes, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Outer Space, Pack Bonding, Past Abuse, Past Child Abuse, Past Domestic Violence, Psychic Bond, Robot Feels, Robot/Human Relationships, Sentient Gundams, Sibling Bonding, Space Battles, Team Bonding, Team Dynamics, Team Feels, Teambuilding, Telepathic Bond, Terrorism, Terrorists, lets fuck off to a colony or something and live in peace, neo zeon is bad, the earth federation is bad
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-30
Updated: 2018-08-01
Packaged: 2019-06-18 22:00:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,991
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15495576
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/limewire/pseuds/limewire
Summary: The year is U.C. 0101. Five years after their crushing defeat in the Laplace Conflict, Neo Zeon has returned to the Earthsphere with a burning desire to topple the Federation and make the truth of Laplace's Box recognized by all.The Federation has obtained 4 new mobile suits with highly advanced on-board AIs to assist on the Ra Cailum's mission to find Zeon remnants, along with top Londo Bell members to pilot them. But something happens as the pilots continue to interact with the mecha...Their AIs start to advance rapidly, and soon enough they were developing minds of their own. They began to attain their own individual personalities and morals, working in tandem with the pilots they've bonded with to effortlessly wipe out the Neo Zeon remnants.But as they observe the plight of battle and the actions taken by the Federation as a whole, they all begin to question if they were truly fighting for the right thing. They look back through documents, articles, documentaries, news broadcasts and the like.Now the black and white worlds of both mecha and pilot are turned over and around, and it's up to them to figure out if the Federation is truly delivering out justice to all.





	1. Angelo's Return

 

  1. _A robot **may not injure a human being**  or, through inaction,  **allow a human being to come to harm.**_
  2. _A robot **must obey orders**  given it by human beings except where such orders would  **conflict with the First Law.**_
  3. _A robot must **protect its own existence**  as long as such protection  ** ** **does not conflict with the First or Second Law.******_  
********



* * *

Today was quite an exciting day for a few certain members of the Londo Bell task force.

These 4 pilots had been chosen to operate in a subdivision of Londo Bell, dubbed the Metallic Hearts. They were chosen for their extraordinary skills in simulations and real battlefields, as well as knowledge on the workings of various mobile suits. In the ports of Von Braun, these pilots can see it now; The  _Ra Cailum_.

“Look at it!” One of them piped up, pressing her face up against a window facing the battleship. “It’s even bigger when you see it up close!”

“I can barely believe it…” Another spoke up, putting his hand on her shoulder as the two watched it descend into the docking bay. “All our work really has paid off, and now we get to work with Captain Bright!”

The PA attention tone rung out through the docks.

_“All Londo Bell task force members, please make your way to port A-10 immediately for boarding the Ra Cailum. Attention, All Londo Bell task force members please make your way to port A-10. Thank you.”_

Tamicka looks around at all the people who were currently at said port, just to make sure that everyone was there. Looks like they were. Four people were easy to keep track of anyways.

She returned her attention to where the battleship had just descended, almost jumping up and down on the spot with bubbly giggles. That’s where everyone’s mission-- and brand-spankin’ new mobile suits --were waiting for them.

The four of them made their way down the passageway to the dock once it opened, their footsteps light and bouncy in the moon's low gravity. They muttered amongst themselves about the possibilities of their incoming adventures, who they'll face and what their mecha will be like. Their time in the forces leading up to this have drawn them all together as friends, and their skills obtained ultimately led them to being chosen for this mission.

At the floor of the hangar the  _Ra Cailum_  stood, its shining fresh white, red and yellow paint from its previous maintenance stop shining as glossy as it could be. And there he was! Standing on the catapult outside the entrance to the ship’s own hangers was Captain Bright Noa, waving at them to float on down.

And with a single leap from the viewing balconies, four pilots seemed to soar right down to where the Captain was before standing at attention.

“Captain Bright, sir!” They all recited in stereo, posture and eye contact strong.

“State your names and ranks, starting from your left.” Bright replied, crossing his arms behind his back.

“Chief Petty Officer Tamicka Robinson, sir!” The first pilot said. She is a colourful-looking black girl, her eyes shining bright as well as her hair dye. One could see the passion and enthusiasm in her just by looking.

“Chief Petty Officer Hatano Tokuhei, sir!” The second pilot said. He is a kind and gentle-mannered Japanese boy, definitely not the kind of person you'd expect to see in the military, yet those who know him understand why.

“Chief Petty Officer Jessie Lawrence, sir..!” The third pilot said. They were a rather weary-looking light skinned person, but there was a stern tone of determination in their words.

“Chief Petty Officer Carmelo Reyes, sir.” The fourth pilot said. He is a quiet and tall Latino man, who has a neutral feeling in his voice and expression. He had the aura of a person with a tough shell to crack.

Bright was good at reading people. He picked up the feeling of each person just watching their faces and hearing their words. He cracks a friendly smile and raises his hand.

“At ease. Looks like I got all the right people.” He stated before turning on his heel to lead the new arrivals inside the hangar.

“Alright, Everyone inside!” He called out to the general area before squatting down and jumping up to the viewing balcony. “Finish any launch preparations left, we're taking off soon!”

Various responses of acknowledgement echoed throughout from the ship's mechanics and other personnel. The door to the catapult closed behind the rookies as they followed the captain’s lead.

“I got all your room assignments and tasks right here,” Bright started as he pulled some papers out of his pocket, handing the pieces to them to pass down. “You’ll all have plenty of time to explore and get a feeling of the halls and rooms, don’t worry. Though I guess the first thing you all want to see is the new mobile suits?”

There was a commotion of agreement among the pilots, it was one of the things that they had all been anticipating the most.

“Alright then, follow me. I’ll have to show them to you either way.” Bright led them down what felt like a maze of hallways and ladders before they reached a different hangar, and in there stood 4 brightly coloured mobile suits. While all their frames were nearly identical, their paint jobs were what made each of them distinguishable.

Everyone leaned on the viewing balcony and looked on in awe, marvelling at the sheer size and aesthetic of each MS.

“We’re gonna be piloting THOSE?” Tamicka bounced up and down, eyes sparkling. “They’re all so pretty!”

“No kidding..!” Jessie chimed in as they leaned forward. “Anaheim really outdid themselves with these ones, didn’t they?” They turned to Bright for the question. The Captain crossed his arms and chuckled, looking back up to the mobile suits.

“Yeah, they kinda did. Even if they all have the same basic design, they all have their own unique weapons and themes.”

“So what are those themes?” Jessie tilted their head. Bright paused for a moment to think and recall.

“Alright let’s see… The deep blue one with the sky blue and bright purple is Aurora. Tamicka is piloting that one. It has beam ribbons instead of beam sabers, which can wrap around enemy suits and slice them up.”

“Oooh, I get the prettiest one!” Tamicka exclaimed, doing a little dance on the spot.

“The teal one with the cyan and mint accents is Comet. That one is Hatano’s. Its weapon is a beam cannon, and I will admit that the projectiles  _do_  look like little comets.”

“Guess that’s why it’s called Comet then…” Hatano smiled and rested his arms down on the edge of the balcony.

“That navy, light blue and orange one is Stardust. Jessie is looking after that one. It has 4 funnels that can dispense beam ‘blobs’ across the battlefield that damage targets upon impact.”

“I like its colours…” Jessie crossed their arms and tilted their head, glancing over its design.

“And the last one is the mahogany, red and orange one with the gatling on the shoulder. That one’s Supernova, and Carmelo will be piloting it. Alongside the gatling, it also has a warhead launcher capable of carrying up to 2 300 kiloton nuclear bombs at a time.”

“I wouldn’t wanna be near that if it went off in my hands.” Carmelo chuckled, leaning his hands on the edge of the balcony.

Bright turned back to the squadron. “Alongside their unique weapons, each of them possess a highly advanced self-learning assistive AI that will be helpful in battle. They learn from the patterns of both the pilot and enemy mobile suits, and can assess the controls if they feel that their pilot won’t react in time to an attack.”

The pilots hummed and nodded. It sounded like a very useful failsafe system that could save them.

“Alright, I think it’s time that you all set up your rooms and got yourselves all set up. Your room numbers are all on the pieces of paper I handed out earlier, along with the duties you’ll have to carry out while stationed here. I’ll be at the bridge if you need anything.”

* * *

 

It’s been almost a day since the  _Ra Cailum_ has departed from Von Braun. The battleship is now carrying out its operation to search out the Earthsphere for Zeon remnants to exterminate.

 

Little to the knowledge of the EFSF, the last of the Zeon forces had been hiding out at Jupiter. For the last 5 years they harvested the resources of the gas giant and its large number of moons, slowly patching their damaged forces up in preparation to return to the Earthsphere and retaliate against the Earth Federation.

The objective of the  _Ra Cailum’s_  mission is to scope out the solar system for any traces of active Zeon activity and exterminate it. So far there has been none, but that was about to change when the ship received a video message.

“Captain!” The communications officer turned his seat around to face Bright. “There’s a massive video signal being broadcasted throughout the Earthsphere communications..!”

He leaned forward a little bit, intrigued as to who was creating such a widespread broadcast.

“... Bring it up.”

The image of the video feed appeared on the primary bridge screen, and everyone could instantly recognize that face.

It was Angelo Sauper.

He was standing upon a podium, the background decorated with Neo Zeon flags.

‹  _Citizens and Soldiers of the Earthsphere! ›_ He started, raising his hands to the cameras dramatically as if he were about to deliver a message from a false god. _‹ I am Angelo Sauper, the new leader of Neo Zeon!_  ›

‹  _Five years ago, the truth of Laplace’s Box was spread across the world, opened with the key that was the White Unicorn. With the box opened, we hoped that Spacenoids everywhere would finally be able to break free from the oppressive clutches of the Earth Federation._  ›

“ _Oppressive is right…_ ” Bright quietly mumbled to himself, thinking about the time he spent in the AEUG because his patience was always tested by his superiors in the EFSF. And the Titans.

‹  _As well, we have been preparing for our return to the Earthsphere for 5 years. WE were forced away into deep space when our great leader Full Frontal perished in the final battle of the Laplace Conflict! Now I shall take the reins of his legacy and bring freedom to Spacenoids everywhere, even if I must take drastic measures to obtain our independence and avenge our glorious leader’s death!_  ›

Angelo slammed his hands down on the podium.

‹  _We no longer care if you call us terrorists. We are people fighting for freedom of all Spacenoids until every last one of us is dead! SIEG ZEON!_  ›

The broadcast cut out. Bright leaned back into his seat and let out a weary sigh.

“Trace the origin point of the broadcast. Proceed to those coordinates. Everyone on Level 2 battle alert! Metallic Hearts members, proceed to your respective hangars and wait for launch orders!”

The alert alarm rang out through the ship, and soon enough the halls were bustling with personnel hurrying to their battle stations. The Metallic Hearts members hurried back down to the hangar Bright had showed them yesterday, each of them bounding themselves through weightlessness to reach their assigned MS.

Tamicka was the first to reach her mecha, Aurora. She opened the cockpit and jumped inside, sitting comfortably inside the seat before starting up the systems.

« Please input voice and handprint identification. » A synthesized feminine voice said flatly, the front control panel positioning itself upward with the outline of a hand displayed on it. Tamicka placed her hand down firmly on the panel.

“Input: Tamicka Robinson.” She stated clearly.

« Analyzing voice and DNA. Voice pattern set as primary security. Welcome, Pilot Tamicka. »

“Alright, let’s get this show on the road!” She piped up excitedly, opening the comms to the rest of her squadron and the bridge.

“Ready to launch, Captain Bright sir!” She stated to the bridge, her comrades standing at the ready as well.

“Alright everyone, wait to launch on my word!” Bright responded through the comms. “There are 7 enemy ships in sight, prepare to engage.”

Outside the  _Ra Cailum_ , there was indeed an incoming storm. Gathered up in front of it was a group of Musaka-class vessels, headed by a single Rewloola. Bright put the numbers together in his head… the maximum amount of mobile suits they could have would be 26. That combined with the firepower of the ships themselves…

… No, they wouldn’t send out all the mobile suits they have. Seeing how many they have, they’d probably launch no more than 10.

“Captain, incoming enemy mobile suits!” The navigation officer exclaimed.

“How many?”

“6 right now… there’s no knowing if they’ll send out more.”

“Alright, launch the Metallic Hearts squadron! It’s time to see exactly  _how much_  effort Anaheim put into these things.”

Bright leaned back into his seat. He was hoping that any actual fighting with the new mobile suits would wait until they could get in an isolated area to test their abilities, but there are some times that something will always try to get in your way. At least that’s what he’s seen from his experience.

Now that the recruits got the green light to launch, they lined up single file to mount on the catapult. Tamicka sprung up first, planting Aurora’s feet down on the launcher and taking position.

“Tamicka Robinson, Aurora Gundam, taking off!”

The catapult got the green light and suddenly the mobile suit was pulled forward with extreme force, Tamicka springing into the deep black of space once it reached near the end of the runway. And one by one, each of them bounded into the weightless void, the enemy directly in their sights.

“There’s 6 mobile suits out there, looks like they’re all Zulus.” Jessie noted, the funnels detaching from Stardust’s shoulders and circling around them. “Given the specs of these things compared to those, this should be no problem.”

“This is what we’ve all been waiting for, everyone! None of you better die today, or you won’t get any of the glory!” Carmelo said as the group pushed their advance forward, being met with an audience of laughs between them.

Here they come now, in the view of all their cameras. Tamicka’s eyes focused on the markers popping up on the panoramic cockpit screen. It was battle time.

“Alright Aurora, show me what you can do.” She smirked, eyes narrowing at the enemy suits.

« Acknowledged. »

The quartet split apart from their tight formation to confuse the group of enemies, each of them drawing their weapons. They circled around them with great speed, containing them within their movements like dolphins herding a school of fish.

“Stardust, funnels!” Jessie commanded the flying weapons to zip and zoom around the intimidated group, dispersing a cloud of beam blobs to trap the Zulus inside of their formation before they even got a chance to fire.

“My turn!” Hatano chimed, pulling up the beam launcher and planting it on Comet’s shoulder. Floating still in space for a moment he took aim, and the sheer power of the beam weapon was seen as soon at the shot incinerated 2 of the enemies on the spot.

There was a volley of cheers and noises of awe over the comms, Hatano looking back at the launcher with an impressed face.

“Wow-ha- _how_ ! Now  _this_  is the kind of firepower that’ll get us through this mission!”

“Hey now, I want some of this too!” Tamicka exclaimed, deploying Aurora’s beam ribbons. “Yo Carmelo!”

Her squadmate looked over to her with a hum of inquisition

“I’ll whip ‘em up, you shoot ‘em down! It’ll be like clay pigeons!” She explained, to which Carmelo agreed with a chuckle.

The colourful ribbons of light shot inside the cloud of beam blobs, wrapping around the four remaining suits before yanking them out into space. Carmelo took steady aim with the shoulder mounted gatling on Supernova before firing, obliterating the enemy suits into a fantastic fiery explosion.

The squadron pulled back together, a chorus of cheers and congratulations being shared between them as they all high five each other with their own suits. First battle and it was practically way too easy!

…  **Way**  too easy.

Jessie took notice of the enemy ships. They weren’t firing on the Ra Cailum.

“Uhh, Bright?” They called back to the bridge. “None of the ships are firing.”

“I know,” Bright responded quickly. “They’re retreating… You all should fall back as we--”

Before Bright could finish, Carmelo had pulled out the nuke launcher and was making a beeline for the Rewloola.

“Oh HELL no they don’t! I’m gonna blow them to smithereens before they can bother us again!” He shouted as he mounted the weapon over the left shoulder, taking aim at the flagship.

“C-Carmelo, wait!” Tamicka shouted back, heading for him so that she could catch up and reel him back.

“Carmelo, return to the Ra Cailum at this moment!” Bright commanded to him over the comms. “They are retreating, the battle is over!”

“Like hell it is!” He retaliated as the sights of the launcher struggled to steady its view against the enemy. “They don’t have any mobile suits left, I can do this!”

“Carmelo, stop! You’re gonna get in really big trouble if you keep on refusing to obey orders!” Tamicka finally caught up to her squadmate, tugging at Supernova’s arm.

“I said-- I said that  **I GOT THIS!!** ” He yelled before pulling the trigger and sending a warhead flying off. It missed by a few hundred meters before detonating far away behind the enemy lines.

The two of them simply floated in silence for a quiet moment before Bright’s voice came over the comms.

“Metallic Hearts, return to the Ra Cailum. Carmelo will see me in the bridge for corrections.”

“... See, I told you.” Tamicka mumbled as she made Aurora grab Supernova by the arm, pulling Carmelo back to the ship.

* * *

 

The four of them made their way to the bridge once they were back on board. The door opened up and they entered, met with the look of a quite disappointed Bright. The other three stood back behind Carmelo just in case something went awry.

The Captain floated up to the man and planted his feet on the floor before raising his hand to deliver his definition of a ‘correction’; a slap to the face.

Carmelo’s eyes went wide as he saw the strike come towards him, a cry ripping through the air as he reflexively raised his hands over his head and fell back towards his friends. Bright simply paused in surprise at what had just happened, his hitting hand lowering slowly.

The offender had practically curled up into a ball, mumbling something indiscernible as the others worriedly grouped around him. The Captain simply stared for a moment before regaining his composure.

“Chief Petty Officer Carmelo Rey--”

“Captain, please!” Hatano interjected, his voice clearly filled with concern.

Bright’s face scrunched up in confusion and frustration. Nobody he’s commanded has ever reacted like that.

“What is the meaning of this?” He asked, his tone impatient.

Jessie decided to take the action of explaining it to him, standing up and making firm eye contact with him.

“Captain Bright, I believe that it should be made known that Carmelo was heavily physically abused throughout his childhood and teen years, and that hitting him for making mistakes will only make his past wounds reopen. I highly advise against using physical force for your corrections in the future.”

Bright seemed to just stare blankly at Jessie for a moment before looking back down at Carmelo, seeing the consequence of his line of action.

“I-Hmm… Well, alright. If it will help him function better in battle, I will not strike him.” He sounded rather reluctant, but Jessie knew that Bright was a man of his word.

“I’m sure that Carmelo has learned his lesson. We’ll continue to talk to him outside.” Jessie added on. And with that, Bright dismissed them.

The squadron hastily made their way out of the bridge to god knows where as the captain sat back on his seat. He closed his eyes for a long moment, just to think…

“Captain, incoming transmission from Augusta Labs.”

“Put it through.”

The main screen showed that the transmission was an audio one, cutting in with the sound of panicked shouts and pained noises. Bright pulled out of his deep thought bubble to listen.

“I-Is this the Ra Cailum!?” A male voice shouted out, slightly chopped up by Minovsky interference.

“This is Captain Bright Noa of the Ra Cailum. What the hell is going on down there?” Bright leaned forward in concern.

“We’ve been ambushed!” The sound of something structural failing cut him off for a moment. “That battle you just went through, it was a distraction for their real first mission! Neo Zeon has stolen the technology for the NAPAI System!”

Bright’s eyes widened as he stood up. He knew that it was too easy to be a real battle.

“Are they gone already?”

“They just left… It happened so fast and without alert! We never could have defended ourselves!”

“Where do you think they’re headed now?”

“No clue… But who knows what they could do with that tech! Just get it back here if you can!”

“Acknowledged. Tracking them down is our mission in the first place. I’ll contact the Earth based forces and see if they can send you any help.”

“Oh, thank you captain! You’re a lifesaver!” The man sighed in relief. “Good luck on catching those goons!”

“Will do.” Bright cut the communication before leaning back into his seat.

Neo Zeon just made a grandiose reappearance and they had already managed to steal a significant advancement in Federation technology. Unbelievable.

Well, if anything, at least things were getting interesting now.


	2. Awakening

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As the pilots tend to their new machines, they find out that there is much more to them than meets the eye. The Tri Stars also start to take interest in the new hotshots that are occupying the ship.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i belted this out in less than 24 hours. speedrun mode yeet

It has been a bit of a bustling day after the Ra Cailum found out about the new AI tech being stolen by Neo Zeon. They were currently in the process of hunting down the location of the ship that stole it, with their best guess being the shoal zone that was Side 5. Pilots and mechanics were busy in the hangars making adjustments to hardware and software, as well as fixing up bumps and dents that happened to get themselves into the armour of the MS.

It was tedious work at times, but it was worth it to keep the machines in top shape.

One of said pilots had situated themself inside the cockpit of their mech as they made slight software adjustments here and there. Jessie sat in the seat as they went through the systems of Stardust, calibrating the physical controls.

“Alright big guy, let's see if it syncs up now…” Jessie put their hand on the right side control.

« Acknowledged. » Stardust’s artificial voice resonated as the arm raised up, pointing straight ahead. Jessie turned the controls up and down and side to side, with the mech's arm moving as if it were their own. They repeated with the left arm as well as the legs, and seemed to be satisfied with the adjustments. 

“Okay, seems you're in perfect working order..!” Jessie mindlessly directed the statement at Stardust as they started to get up and leave the cockpit.

« Thank you. »

They paused for a moment and looked up with surprise, canting their head to the side. Did the machine they just finished working on  _ thank _ them..?

Stardust was silent for a few more moments before continuing.

« The sync between the pilot and their machine is important. It can be the difference between life or death. »

Jessie thought for a second. Hell, the big robot had a good point. They simply looked back up to their mech with a smile.

“You're right. You sure do learn quickly.”

« It's my directive to learn. »

“True… Well, I'm getting hungry. I'll be off.”

And with that, Jessie bounded off the frame of Stardust towards the hangar balcony. The mech watched as they floated away, also slowly canting their head to the side as their pilot did earlier.

_ What does ‘hungry’ mean..? _

Hatano observed the exchange between them from Comet's spot with great curiosity. It seems that their intelligence was already starting to evolve beyond battle, or maybe they weren't just designed to be combat AIs in the first place.

He looked up to his own mechanical partner with inquiry.

“Comet?”

« Yes? »

“Do you all learn as fast as Stardust just did?”

Comet took a moment to process the question for a moment before answering.

« Only if you teach us. »

Hatano slouched back in the pilot's seat, humming as he thought about the response. This could go a lot of directions.

“... There's a lot of broadcasts and networks all around the Earthsphere. Try to see if you can access them. Sometimes you can teach yourself.”

Comet paused for a moment. A GUI showed up on the panoramic screen that displayed a broadcast of some old live action TV show from the 2000’s.

“Oh my god, this stuff is so old.” Hatano leaned forward with intrigue. “It's amazing they were able to save this stuff after the One Year War.

« … One Year War … »

“That's a whole other thing that we can look at some other time. I wanna watch the old show.”

« … Acknowledged. »

Comet observed the dialogue and actions that were being displayed by the people being shown there, occasionally asking about the acting, special effects and the like. He took note of the mannerisms of the characters, mostly their emotional responses to various situations.

It was… Fascinating. It seemed so real, yet it was all pretend. Forged from the imaginations of humans, put down on paper and acted out on the big screen… 

Across the hangar, Carmelo was half working and half thinking about what he did yesterday. His mood was sour, mostly from the fact that Bright tried to hit him.

He was mumbling to himself in Spanish bitterly, thinking about how what he would have achieved if Tamicka hadn't thrown off his aim. He seats himself in the seat of the cockpit, slouching down and staring off into space.

« That was reckless. »

The sudden voice made Carmelo jerk out of his thoughts, looking around to see where it was coming from.

“… Qué?”

« What you did yesterday. »

Now realizing it was coming from Supernova, he slouched back into the seat and crossed his arms with a growl.

“Oh, the giant robot is gonna lecture me…” He sneered, tapping his foot against the console.

« It's true. Nuclear weapons are not something to be taken lightly, even in space. If there was a colony in its trajectory, many innocent lives could have been lost.”

“There were no colonies in sight, so what difference does it make?”

« You shouldn’t do that again, in the case that it might actually happen one day without me intervening. »

Carmelo’s nose scrunched up, his voice getting quieter.

“... I was in control of the situation… I’m able to be in control of my actions on the battlefield. I could never make my own decisions back at home.”

Supernova observed the emotions that were swirling inside his pilot, idly taking note of what might be causing it. Carmelo was…  _ Sad. Frustrated. Scared. Restless. Paranoid…  _

« … Your mind is heavy. I can see it. »

Carmelo’s expression didn’t change.

“And?”

Supernova took a long moment to put together a response.

« Heavy mind… weighs you down in battle. You do hasty actions that might end up with bad consequences. I believe that’s why you fired off the nuke, so that you could feel like you could do something good. »

Slowly, the man sat back up in his seat, realizing that what the mech was saying was… right. The people in his home life always made him feel useless, like he could never do anything right. And now that he’s in the military, he’s seeking out the chance to have his actions validated. Even if it meant firing a nuke at a Neo Zeon flagship.

… Wait, the _machine he’s piloting_ _knows_ this?

“Hold up a minute, how in the hell are you learning all of this so fast?”

« Battle partners should get to know each other to understand each other. And I can tell that you feel that I’m right. »

Carmelo sat in silence for a moment before pulling his legs up to his chest and curling up. He could feel his throat get tight, but he forced it back.

Moments later, several GUIs came up on the panoramic cockpit screens, flashing between different articles about things that were too fast for Carmelo’s eyes to read.

“... What are you doing now?”

« Reading and processing articles on trauma in humans. »

His first impulse was to object to this decision, but he thought about it for a moment. A  _ machine _ was doing a better job at trying to understand his mental state than any of the people he had growing up with. Maybe… Maybe he could trust him.

* * *

 

It was now lunch hour and the cafeteria was bustling, personnel lining up to the food trays and grabbing their rations for the afternoon. In the corner of the room, a conversation was taking place between the new squadron members… 

“It's weird,” Hatano started, tapping his fork against the side of his tray. “I thought that they were supposed to be assistive combat AIs, but it looks like they're definitely developing beyond that.”

Tamicka made a noise of acknowledgement, swallowing her food.

“I know, right? I mean, Aurora was talkin’ to me. Not like preprogrammed dialogue lines, I mean  _ actual conversation _ . Like she-- Wait…  It? She? I don't even know anymore…”

“They're definitely attaining human mannerisms, that's for sure.” Carmelo poked at his now empty food tray. “Supernova was able to recognize my thought processes in minutes and tried to play  _ therapist _ , for god’s sake.”

“Good. You need one.” Tamicka pointed her fork at her squadmate, who simply chuffed.

“Maybe so.”

“Maybe Stardust will too.” She swiveled the direction of her fork to Jessie. “Taking care of 2 little siblings without your parents must be exhausting.”

“No shit.” Jessie chuckled a bit. “I've been raising them ever since they were toddlers ever since my mom and dad went to shitfuck wherever to make money. And the absence of real parental figures probably put a dent in their development too…”

“Better than shitty parents who like to stick around.” Carmelo mumbled to them.

“Oh, you'd be surprised. But hey, suffering isn't a competition.” Jessie stated as they shoved another forkful of food into their mouth.

Hatano looked over the shoulder of the two when his eye caught something approaching. No mistake about it, those were the Tri Stars.

“Big boys coming in at 12 o’clock.” He said to the rest of the table as the three decorated pilots practically made a beeline to them. Looks like some people outside the bridge were also watching that battle intently and wished to inquire further.

“Look at that, it's the new hotshots themselves!” Daryl was the first to chime up, putting on a friendly face as he seated himself next to Carmelo. Nigel and Watts took a seat across from their squadmate.

“We saw that action you all brewed up out there yesterday, rookies.” Nigel leaned forward on the table. “That last stunt probably took some real balls to pull off.” 

“I bet even Watts wouldn't pull something like that!” Daryl added on, to which Watts napped him on the shoulder from across the table.

Carmelo hastily looked down at that comment, now knowing that he wasn't proud of what they were mentioning. The other MH members remained silent.

“... What's the matter, hombre?” Daryl attempted to put a gentle hand around the other man's shoulder, but he quickly pulled away.

“... Fue estúpido.” He muttered quietly, shuffling a bit in his seat. 

“Ahora, la gente toma decisiones tontas en la batalla todo--”

“¡Fue una  _ bomba nuclear! _ ”

Daryl leaned back at the sudden rise in Carmelo's voice, but he was able to understand why.

“... Bien, un arma nuclear fue un movimiento bastante tonto. Pero tienes el espíritu, y eso es lo que importa.”

Carmelo though on it for a moment. A good spirit in the heat of battle  _ is _ important. Dammit, why is he only getting all this advice now..?

The other five at the table, having no idea of what either of them had just said, decided to try and move on from the heavy topic of wartime mistakes.

“Didn't some of the mechanics say something about the new mobile suit AIs suddenly advancing rapidly?” Watts inquired, looking back over to the rest of the squadron. 

“Oh yeah, that.” Tamicka started before hastily finishing off the last of her food. “Yeah, that's very true. I don't think these are just combat AIs, honestly. They're actually initiating conversation and sustaining it.” 

“I actually had been doing a little bit of reading…” Hatano reached into a bag before pulling out some holosheets. “Apparently there was an experimental AI technology that was used back in the 0080s that was actually designed to be like a human so that the Gundam didn't require a pilot. They called her ‘ALICE’...”

The rest of the table listened in closely.

“... So I believe that the Federation took that old tech and repurposed it into the mechs that we got. My guess is that they meant for it to be a mere combat AI that learned from it's pilot, but I guess they forgot to remove the whole ‘human’ aspect.”

Nigel leaned back and hummed in thought.

“... No, Anaheim isn't that stupid. There's gotta be something deeper to this.”

“What if it's like a heart to heart thing?” Tamicka sat upright. “What if they really are meant to be human, and that when the souls of both mech and pilot sync together in the heat of battle, a new power is unleashed?”

The Tri Stars looked at her like she had been watching too much Brave series and Saturday morning cartoons, but her squadmates thought that she might be onto something.

“Maybe… Maybe that's it.” Hatano looked back down to the holosheets, a smile growing on him. “I'll have to look at the specs for the frames again soon, but I think you might be hitting the mark Tamicka!”

She looked delighted that her hypothesis was being taken as a serious consideration, clasping her hands together and giggling.

The tone that marked the end of lunch break echoed throughout the ship.

_ ‘Lunch Break is now over. All personnel, return to your assigned stations.’ _

“Welp, I think we all have free time this afternoon, right?” Hatano looked back to his squadmates, who replied with various statements of confirmation. The Tri Stars also get up, albeit they're going somewhere irrelevant.

“Alright, have fun with your Transformers you wild kids.” Nigel waved off playfully before heading down one of the halls with Watts and Daryl.

* * *

 

”Hey captain, look at this.”

The voice of the communications officer caught Bright's attention, prompting him to come and see what the crew member was talking about.

“There's a large amount of short communication waves being thrown around in hangar 2. It's a feed of text that's going faster than humans can read. I think… I think it's going between the new mobile suits, sir.”

“The new mobile suits..?” He took a moment to look at the feed. The man wasn't lying when he said that you could only catch bits and pieces.

He looked closely, catching small words and phrases…

_ ‘Curiosity…’ _

_ ‘Human behaviour…’ _

_ ‘Souls…’ _

_ ‘Gestures…’ _

_ ‘Complicated…’ _

_ ‘Hurt and Sorrow…’ _

_ ‘Important bonds…’ _

Bright couldn't believe it. He didn't think that these AIs could advance this far, and this quickly as well.

“They're… Communicating with each other. They're conversing… They're already becoming  _ sentient _ .”

**Author's Note:**

> god writing this is gonna kill my fingers
> 
> ANYWAYS here is the little thing i have been planning out for the past few months!! because i think too much about robots with souls. robots with souls are good
> 
> this is more of an introduction chapter than anything else, im gonna get more into development and the like as i continue writing this story. i hope that you all enjoy this story that i baked up and its chapters that are to come!


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